A recent report by the Chicago Tribune has confirmed that Bears’ quarterback Jay Cutler suffered a broken thumb on his throwing hand during his team’s 31-20 win over the San Diego Chargers on Sunday.
Cutler suffered the injury – which is expected to sideline the star for 6 to 8 weeks – while attempting to tackle Chargers cornerback Antonio Cason as he returned an interception early in the fourth quarter.
“Jay does have a right thumb fracture,” Bears’ coach Lovie Smith said during an appearance on WBBM-AM 780. “He hurt it on the tackle on the interception. Of course, we took X-rays last night and he’ll be seeing specialists this morning and we’ll be able to tell you a little more after that.”
If Cutler’s season is over (6-8 weeks, at minimum, mean Jay would miss the rest of the regular season and possibly one or two playoff games), the Bears will be forced to turn to fourth-year quarterback Caleb Hanie.
Hanie, whose career regular season numbers are 8 of 14 for 66 yards, no touchdowns, and one pick, had his most sustained action in the Bears’ 21-14 playoff loss to Green Bay last season. Replacing an injured Cutler, Hanie threw for 153 yards on 13-of-20 passing with one touchdown and two interceptions.
Prior to his injury, Jay Cutler had thrown for 2,319 yards with 13 scoring passes and seven interceptions for the Bears, who currently have a record of 7 -3 and are tied with the Detroit Lions for second place in the NFC North.
via Chicago Tribune
